There were two questions surrounding Rafael Nadal’s retirement, which has been on everyone’s minds for a while now. When ? And where? 2024 would be “probably” his final year, but 2025 remained a possibility. The Spaniard ultimately opted for the first option. Once that decision was made, he couldn’t stop anywhere. Roland-Garros seemed an obvious final destination, especially with a double dose of tennis at Porte d’Auteuil this year, during the traditional Grand Slam then via the Olympic Games. It will be neither.
Rafael Nadal has not played since his defeat at the Olympics against Novak Djokovic, but he will extend his career for a few more weeks, until the final phase of the Davis Cup, from November 19 to 24, in Malaga. Its der will be collective and Andalusian. This choice has a double advantage: finishing as a team and in front of your audience. Roger Federer used the Laver Cup for his outing. Another collective ordeal. One more point in common between them.
The man who took his time
“In the Davis Cup, you represent your country and what’s more, it will be at home in Malaga, I think that weighed in his decision. For me it was the right place“, estimates his compatriot Alex Corretja. Would Rafael Nadal have taken the same if this final phase had taken place in another country?
“I think as soon as he realized that Spain were going to play the finals at home, he knew he had to be thereadds the double finalist at Roland-Garros. I even believe that he anticipated this for several weeks, several months, even.”
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A choice which is the fruit of a reflection that Corretja imagines to have been considered for a long time: “Rafa took his time on the pitch, between points, between matches. He was a very calm guy who needed time. He did the same to retire. And I understand it very well. He certainly doesn’t regret having taken months to decide for good. It’s a definitive decision, for life, you have to weigh it. There was no question of him announcing something and then regretting it, saying to himself ‘oh no, why did I do that?’“Not the house type.
Now, what role can the Mallorcan play in this very final stretch, given his lack of competition and the limitations he has had during his last appearances? “He wants to arrive with a real chance to play, judge Mats Wilander. Play singles or doubles. We might think that he has a better chance of being competitive in doubles. In any case he will want to go out in the best possible way, at the top of his art of the moment.“
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Doubles to finish… like Federer?
Even if the Davis Cup has abandoned the system of three winning sets with its new format, the sequence of matches can be physically demanding, if Spain advances beyond the quarter-finals. “Physically, that’s the biggest question. Can he train as much as he needs to?“, continues Wilander, who can’t imagine Nadal returning to Malaga without having played a single match between Paris 2024 and the Davis Cup. “He’ll probably have to go play a tournament, he said. Two might be too many.”
Behind the essential Carlos Alcaraz, Spain, which no longer has its incredible reservoir of around ten years ago, does not have a real number two. Can Nadal be the one? Or should it only be aligned in doubles? Federer ended up in a doubles with Nadal because he was too weak physically to play singles, even in the Laver Cup. Will Nadal finish by focusing on the doubles, with Alcaraz? The symbolism would be strong, there too. The two played together at the Games, what’s more.
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“They were still quite far from the score against Krajicek and Ram, even if they are an excellent teamtempers Mats Wilander. They weren’t good enough. And when I say that, I especially think of Carlos Alcaraz, who didn’t play well enough for them to have a chance. He was expected to be the dominant player. Despite everything, this is the team we want to see. And it would be a beautiful thing to see Rafa handing over the king’s crown to King Carlos in this context.”
There is a race to be won. A silver salad bowl to fetch. But the symbolic charge and the emotional power will be such in Malaga that the rest, even the result, will perhaps take second place in the face of the massive event that constitutes the man’s big departure at the 14 Roland-Garros.
